Portable electric light.



s'. w. W ACKER. PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED APELZZ, i916.

mmase t. 4,1917.

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GEORGE W. WACKER, 0F RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO 'NATIONALCARBON COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. L, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

romantic" ntncrnrc LIGHT.

. Specification of Letters Yatcnt. Patented Sept]. 4, llHill'i.

Application filednpril 22, 1916. Serial No. 92,847.

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, GEORGE W. Wnoxnn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Rutherford, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements-in Portable ElectricLights, of which the following is a supporting metal reflector. Tubular"flashlights ofthis kind having an electrically conductive lamp socketinsulated-from the exposed metal fittings or casing parts are disclosedin the patent to Conrad Hubert No. 1,157,395 of October 19, 1915, for aportable electric light, and also in the patent to Conrad Hubert No.1,2205%. of Marc-h27, 1917, for a portable electric light.

An important object of ,my present invention is to produce aconstruction which is simpler, stronger, more reliable and lessexpensive to manufacture than constructions heretofore employed. Anotherim-- portant object of my invention is to provide, in a constructionhaving an insulated lamp socket, for the employmentor embodiment thereinof the improved lamp socket which forms the subject of my applicationtar patent filed on even date herewith as Serial No. 92,846. Otherobjects and advantages of my invention will hereinafter appear.

My inyeention includes an annulus of insulating material upon one edgeof which an edge of the metal reflector is turned over in'grippingrelation and upon the other edge of which a contact-making orcircuitcompleting flange extending from the electrically conductive lampsocket is turned over in gripping relation, whereby the electricallyconductive lamp socket is supported upon and insulated from thereflector by the intermediary insulating annulus. My invention moreparticularly includes an an nular insulating disk to the inner edge ofwhich the inner edge of the reflector is secured and to the outer edgeof which the contact plate which carries the lamp socket is secured, thelamp socket projecting, in spaced relation to the reflector, into acentral socket-receiving opening'which the re flector provides. Myinvention also includes other features. oflconstruction and combinationsof parts as will appear from the following description.

I shall now describethe tubular. portable electric lightillustratedinithe accompany ing drawings'embodying my invention andshall-thereafter point out my invention in claimsfl Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section of a portable electric light in which myinvention' is embodied, with the circuit in the closed condition. V

Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in section and with parts omitted,as-seen from above in Fig. 1 and with the circuit inthe open condition.I

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionon a plane indicated by the lines 33viewed from the right.

. Fig. l is an enlarged partial transverse section on a plane indicatedby the lines l4 of Fig. 1 as viewed from the left, the lamp and theouter casing being omitted.

Fig. 5 is a similar section ona plane indicated by the lines 55 of Fig.1 as viewed from the right.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal section in the plane of Fig. 1 of thelamp socket and its insulating and supporting means, including thereflector, and showing the lamp in elevation.

The particular tubular portable electric light or flashlight illustratedin the accompanying drawings as embodying my invention has abattery-containing casing which includes a main cylindrical or tubularpart 1 of metal. A usual metallic end cap 2 is screw-threaded over therear end of the tube 1 and is provided at the inside with a usualbattery-supporting electrically conductive spiral thrust spring 3.

The casing contains a battery shown as comprising two cells having aZinc cup 4: forming one terminal oi the cell and having a carbon centralend terminal 5, these batof Fig. 1 as tery cells being contained in ausual paper of the battery, is in contact with the central 35 example,fits snugly over the neck 14 and terminal 7 of; an ordinary miniatureincandescent lamp having a bulb 8 and ausual ann'ul'ar screw tlirea'dedbase 9 which forms the otherterminal of the lamp.

A usual fla ged metal ring lo is scrlew "threaded over he 'f rward endof the metal casing tube 1 and h lds in 'place'a usual lens -.11 and alamp-supportingmetallic reflector 12 which is shown-a! held atitsout-turned outer or peripheral edge between the lens 11- and an inturnedflange'shown as provided upon" the outerscrew-threaded end of thetubular casing art 1. It is tobe noted that I the metallic re ector 12is inelec'trically conthe battery through the, casing-tube 1, the-'ductive relation with the metal casing tube 1 and' t'he metal 'end ring10, and is-therefore electrically connected to the zinc terminal ofmetal end cap: 2 andthe thrust spring 3. Means involving my invent onand now to M be described are provided for supporting the lamp from thereflector 12. in insulated relation thereto, sothat the lamp circuit"may be part 14 between which is formed an inwardly .completed throughits terminal 9, which forms also a supporting base for the lamp.-

The metallic reflector 12 is provided with a central tubular extensionwhich provides a central socket-receiving opening, this tubularextension being shown as comprising a larger'forward part 13-and areduced rear directed outer shoulder 15, as clearly appears in thedrawings, particularly in Fig. 6. An

1- gripped-and securely annular insulating disk 16 of suitableinsulating material such as vulcanized fiber, for

abuts against the shoulder 15 and is firmly held in place by means of aflange 17 turned over outwardly the inner edge of the neck 14 of thetubular extension from the reflector 12, the inner edge of theannular'insulating disk 16 being thus grippedand held by the inner edgeof the reflector 12 so that the insulating disk 16 is securely supportedupon the reflector 12.

A metallic lamp socket 18 projects outwardly into the metalsocket-receiving open- -ing provided by the reflector 12 in spacedrelation to the reflector at its neck or reduced part 14. The tubularlamp socket 18 is supported by a circuit-completing plate or contactplate 19, shown as formed in one piece with or from the same piece ofmetal as the lamp socket 18 and shown as forming a flange at the innerend of the tubular lamp socket 18. The contact plate 19 is spacedbackwardly away. from the turned-over j flange 17 of the reflector bymeans of an an- -nular off-set or short cylindrical portion 20 whichforms outwardly therefrom a flat annular seat or shoulder 21 having anouter peripheral rim 22 forming with the shoulder 21a cup or receptacleinto which the outer edge or peripheral portion of the anfrom nularinsulating disk 16 snugly fitsiand the free outer edge of the shortcylindrical cup part 22 is turned over inwardly upon the outer edge ofthe insulating disk 16 to form an inturned-gripping flange 23 whlchfirmly clamps the outer edge of the insulating dlsk 16 against theshoulder 21, whereby the contact plate 19 and the lamp socket 18 aresuported by the intermediate annular insulatl-ng 'disk 16 upon themetallic reflector 12 its screw threaded base 9 is electricallyconductive relation with the tubular socket part 18 but is insulatedfrom the reflector 12 and the outer metal casing parts 'by the annularinsulating-disk 16 -by which the lamp.

socket 18 and lamp are supported.

' 'Any suitable circuit-controlling mcans' may be provided forelectrically connecting, the contact plate 19 with somemetallic partofthe casing which is in electrical connec-' tion with the zinc terminalof the battery through the thrust spring 3. In the constructlonillustrated in the drawings, a longitudinally movable contact strip 24is turned inward at its forward free end for controlling parts, thisfriction bein in-.

creased by means of a strip 28 of suitable material, such as fiber,interposed between the slide 25 and the outer surface of the metalcasing tube 1, this fiber strip 28 also preventing'the scratching of thepolished outer surface of the casing tube 1, the fiber strip 28 beingheld in place by the-tubular rivets 26,- as appears in Fig. l.

and are electrically insulated therefrom, so that the lamp .circuit sinterrupted at tlllS. point. The terminal of the lamp formed by The lampsocket or tubular socket member 18 illustrated in the drawings is of theconstruction which forms the subject of my hereinbefore mentionedapplication for patcut for lamp socket. This socket member 18 1s asmooth cylindrical tube which freely receives the screw-threaded lampbase 9 of the lamp and at one of its sides is provided with atransversely slotted opening 29 which is slightly inclined to correspondwith the screw-thread of the lamp base 9. The lamp base 9 is held ingood conductive relation with the socketmember 18 and is gripped andheld against unscrewing by means ofa split r ng 30 .of spring wire whichengages and grips the outside of the tubular socket scribed within themember 18 and which has at one end a straight portion, as appears in thedrawings, which enters or passes transversely through and beyond theslot 29 in the tubular socket member 18 and engages and presses upon thelamp base 9 in the groove formed by its screw-thread, it being notedthat the resilient lamp-holding split ring 30 does not come in contactwith the adjacent neck 1a of the reflector 12, from which the lampsocket 18,

split ring 30 and lamp base 9 are insulated by the means hereinbeforedescribed involving my present'dnvention. The construction provided bymy present invention is paricularly adapted for supporting the lampsocket of my invention with which it is shown as embodied in asingleconstruction. However, in carrying out my present invention a differentform of lamp socket 'could be employed, for example, the usualscrew-threaded form of lamp socket.

It is obvious that variousmodifications may be made in the constructionshown in the drawings and above particularly deprinciple and scope of myinvention. I

I claim:

'1. A portable electric light having, in combination, a'conductivereflector provided with a socket-receiving opening, a conductiv'e lampsocket in the opening and spaced out of contact with the reflector, andan annular insulating disk supporting the lamp socket on the reflectorin insulated relation therewith and to the inner edge of which thereflector is secured. and to the outer edge of which the lamp socket issecured.

2. A portable electric light having, in combination, a conductivereflector, an an nular insulating disk engaged at its inner edge by andsupported upon the reflector, a

conductive contact plate engaging the outer edge of the insulating diskand supported thereon, and a conductive lamp socket car? ried by thecontact plate in spaced relation to the reflector. e

3. A portable electric light having, in

Gopies of this patent may 'be obtained for ing disk, and a conductivelamp socketcarried by the contact plate and projecting into thesocket-receiving opening of the reflector in spaced relation to thereflector.

4. A portable electric light having, in combination, a conductivereflector, an annulus of-insulating material having opposite-edges uponone of which the reflector is turned over and grips, and a conductivelamp socket having a contact flange turned over upon and gripping theother edge of the insulating annulus.

5. A portable electric light having, in combination, a conductivereflector provided with a socket-receiving opening, an annulus ofinsulatin material having opposite edges upon one or which the inneredge of the reflector is turned over and grips, a conductive contactplate turned over upon and gripping the other edge of the insulatingannulus, and a conductive lamp socket carried by the contact plate andprojecting into the socket-receiving opening of the reflector in spacedrelation to the reflector.

6. A portable electric light having in combination, a conductivereflector provided with an opening, an annular insulating disk upon theinner edge of which the inner edge of the reflector is turned over togrip the insulating disk, a conductive contact plate the outer edge ofwhich is turned over upon and grips the outer edge of the insulatingdisk and which inwardly from its outer turnedover edge is provided withan annular offset which spaces the contact disk from the turned-overinner edge of the reflector, and a conductive lamp socket carried by thecontact plate in spaced relation to the reflector;

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

- GEORGE W. WACKER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington,D. 63.

